It has most certainly been a busy spring for P.A.T.C.H.E.S clothing. From photoshoots to fashion shows, P.A.T.C.H.E.S clothing has been making their names known around the St. Louis area.
Every year, SYGU hosts a graphic tee party called "Teese" during Memorial Day weekend. Hundreds of locals dressed in their favorite or custom graphic tees flock to this event in hopes of standing out among the crowd by making a bold statement with the words on their shirt. For Teese 08, I elected at the last minute to attend. It was my first time attending and I ended up making a custom graphic tee design on my computer with iron ons. My tee simply stated "Do You". It was nothing special but got the message I wanted out there. This year, I was amp from last year's turnout. I decided that I wanted to have a custom graphic tee made. As I floated among the crowd last year, I saw a nice amount of locals rocking shirts that said Patches on it. The more I saw it, I began to wonder, what exactly IS Patches??? So I asked a local and she told me it was a local clothing line that makes custom tees. It was then that I reconnected with Meach whom I used to work with at Target many years ago and met Hero, some of the founders of P.A.T.C.H.E.S. I gave them my business cards and told them to keep me posted if they need any photos.
Fast-forward to 2009 about a week and some days before Teese 09. I'm sitting at my computer, logged in Facebook. I began to think, what can I possibly put on my Teese 09 tee that would be bold, funny and unique? I began to think about some of the crazy status updates I be posting on Facebook and it dawned on me and hit me in my face. I wanted my tee to say: "If you don't like that your girl is preggo, shoulda put a Nuva Ring on it". I laughed out loud as I thought about what people would possibly say about it. I texted DMG2 (founder of P.A.T.C.H.E.S) and asked him could P.A.T.C.H.E.S create the shirt with those words AND the outline of the NuvaRing lady. He said he will pitch my creation to his team and let me know. When I say P.A.T.C.H.E.S hustles and puts in hard work for your custom tee needs, I really mean they put in hard work and hustled to get my tee done AND several others who ordered custom tees before Teese 09. When I arrived to pick up my tee, they had a production line going. One guy was creating the graphics on a Mac, another person was printing off the graphics, another person was pressing on the graphics to the tee, another person was folding the tees neatly and placing them in gallon ziploc bags that had each customer's name on it while another person was taking calls and handling the customers as they came to pick up their orders. They were so busy putting to life each customer's vision for their tee. I opened up my ziploc right then and there and was shocked at how they were able to pull off the text AND add the NuvaRing lady outline. I was very impressed!
I strolled to Teese fashionably late that Sunday night proudly showing off my custom tee and smiled with pride as I saw my friends and several other people rocking tees made by P.A.T.C.H.E.S. When people asked me who made my tee, I quickly and loudly replied over the music www.patchesclothing.com. It's a movement ya'll and I can honestly say now: ifuxwitpatches!
After some of the hype of Teese 09 died down, I decided to e-interview (interview by email) B Reason (founder of P.A.T.C.H.E.S) to let others in St. Louis and surrounding cities and states know why I have chosen P.A.T.C.H.E.S as a clothing vendor of choice. Here is the e-interview:
CoCo.:
What does P.A.T.C.H.E.S. stand for?
B Reason:
Patches stands for taking a bunch of ideas, items, bravado, life lessons, clothes and "patching" them together to make a strong piece of work.
CoCo.:
How did the idea for P.A.T.C.H.E.S come about?
B Reason:
Patches came about because we got bored of what was in the stores, nothing spoke to us directly. We figured we could make our own clothes, that said what we wanted them to say. It just so happens that others outside of immediate circle felt the same way and wanted unique clothing as well. Its ben growing ever since. The design/creation team consists of Meach, Hero, B. Reason, E Bizz, and DMG2.
CoCo.:
How long has P.A.T.C.H.E.S been around?
B Reason:
P.A.T.C.H.E.S has been in existence for around 3 years, the past year however we have had a major growth spurt from being even more in the streets and developing a strong following from fashion shows that we have been featured in.
CoCo.:
What exactly can patches do for you?
B Reason:
We at P.A.T.C.H.E.S believe that we can take whatever image you have in your head, transform it and print it on a shirt. Whether it be a family reunion, bachelor(ette) party, funeral(we keep it hood), birthday, street team, sporting event, or you just want a custome 1 of 1 piece to rock the club. We can outfit you for whatever occasion.
CoCo.:
What can clients expect to spend on a customized graphic tee with P.A.T.C.H.E.S?
B Reason:
Our clients can expect to pay around $40 for a custom 1 of 1 piece of clothing, of course ordering in bulk will have its benefits and all prices are negotiable.
CoCo.:
What are you goals for 2009?
B Reason:
Our goals for 2009 are for certain items from our signature line to be featured in more local and national boutiques. Also to gain more national recognition and bring those who FUXWITPATCHES along with us for the ride.
CoCo.:
Any major upcoming projects?
B Reason:
Upcoming projects include a few more Fashion Shows around St Louis, as well as outfitting our affiliate website Night Society with clothing for their 1st official event Artistic Essence June 13th at the PhD Gallery.
I would like to thank B Reason for taking time out of his busy schedule to do this e-interview. P.A.T.C.H.E.S is on the rise because they are "Just Tryna Stay Fresh in a Dirty World"
If you would like to order your own custom tee, go to www.patchesclothing.com.
Media Credit for P.A.T.C.H.E.S. Clothing Line Photo: JLR Photography
Media Credit for P.A.T.C.H.E.S. Photo at Teese 09: CoCo. the Photographer
Media Credit for CoCo. Photo: B Free Paparazzi
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